


a crack; a chasm

by gravitee



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano Friendship, CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, Episode: s02e06 Weapons Factory, Gen, Light Angst, Mentioned Anakin Skywalker, Mentioned Barriss Offee, Mentioned Luminara Unduli, Mentioned Obi-Wan Kenobi, Missing Scene, POV CT-7567 | Rex, Protective CT-7567 | Rex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29406498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gravitee/pseuds/gravitee
Summary: When the factory blows to all hell, the first thing Rex feels is relief.Then he can’t find Commander Tano anywhere, and that relief curdles into something else.———[ahsoka and barriss successfully blow up the factory on geonosis. but for rex, it's not a success till his commander's out of the rubble.]
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	a crack; a chasm

**Author's Note:**

> was rewatching this episode recently and aaaaAAAAAAA rex's body language after the factory explosion got to me
> 
> (100% platonic obviously i shouldn't have to spell that out)

When the factory blows to all hell, the first thing Rex feels is relief. A minor dust storm billows out in the wake of the blast. As he and the men get down for cover, it’s a weight off his shoulders that this battle is almost won.

Then he can’t find Commander Tano anywhere, and that relief curdles into something else. 

General Skywalker comms him immediately, ordering for half a dozen tank-lifters. It isn’t the order so much as how he gives it that sets the gears in motion. How many times has the man sounded _worried?_

This was a bad idea. They sent two Commanders into the catacombs armed with nothing but a memorised map, a handful of explosives, and their lightsabers. Jedi powers or no, it’s risky.

They’re commanders, Rex attempts to reason. Capable. But they are also young — so, so young — and he tries very hard not to think of the words _suicide mission_.

There are days when he’s grateful for his helmet; this is one of them. Stops the boys in the transport carrier from seeing his clenched jaw, the worry he feels for the girl trapped under a collapsed fortress.

A girl. A child. _Adiik._

When the General tells him to start shifting the rubble, Rex is almost offended that he had to ask.

———

The conversation he overhears between the Generals is one he’d rather forget. 

Eavesdropping isn’t something he makes a habit of either. Even with his brothers, Rex sticks to his own business unless someone else drags him into it.

But then the words drift over the scorched battlefield — _“I won’t let Ahsoka die!”_ — and Rex has to wonder who the _kriff_ had the gall to suggest otherwise.  
  
General Luminara Unduli, as it turns out. The only other person who should have as much at stake in getting to the commanders as Skywalker.

But Rex sees the Mirialan Jedi talk about mourning the commanders as if the debris is just a grave, as if they’re dead beneath her feet already. He doesn’t feel it when he bares his teeth. A silent snarl without a witness.

She was standing with her commander just _hours_ ago. And now she’s offering eulogies like the galaxy could go on as normal. Like the war would ever really mean anything to Rex or General Skywalker without the kid. The procedural instinct in him sets off a slew of warning bells; that kind of defeatist talk has no place in war, before or after the battle. 

Someone behind him calls his name, asking for assistance with the debris removal. He pauses for a second, staring at the backs of two generals that should never be so opposed on something as simple as this. Being under General Skywalker’s command is a small mercy sometimes. At least someone can fight for what they _should_ be doing.

General Unduli’s shoulders are too relaxed for two missing children.

He’s _this_ close to telling her as much. Probably for the best that we turns away. It’d be walking the line of insubordination, and his balance isn’t what it used to be.

Rex is grateful for the helmet, but not much else.

———

The General’s comm pings. The voice that filters through is faint, and though she’s far weaker than she ought to sound, it’s Ahsoka.

Speaking, breathing, _living_ Ahsoka.

The pressure on his chest lets up at the sound. His ribs creak, his breathing becomes easier. _Alive._

Rex is quick to offer the heavy-duty machinery. If she’s there then they should _go get her._ But the generals decide on the best move they’ve made all day — bypassing the lifters and opting to levitate the slabs of wreckage themselves. 

It’s a marvel, watching two people float an entire wall of duracrete and steel with nothing but concentration. Rex still isn’t sure how it works. He doesn’t need to be.

Because after a handful of tense seconds, drawing the sweat from his brow and the throb in his temple, he sees it. A flash of familiar blue and white, covered in rusty Geonosian dust. A chain of beads glints in the sun; spindly limbs clamber out from under the rock.

Ahsoka’s smile is tired. It is blinding.

And suddenly Rex is grateful for something else, too.

———

He can’t hang around to greet her immediately. That’s always been a job for General Skywalker. Bringing each other back from the brink of death is a regular habit. 

Not everyone is so lucky. Rex watches the stretchers dart past, knowing how slim a fraction will be saved. If in one piece, physically or otherwise. So many dead, so little ground gained. His next deployment will be soon. His shoulders ache.

“Hey, Rex.”

He turns at the voice. “Commander,” he greets. It sounds hollow, so he clears his throat. “Good to have you back.”

The kid beams. “Good to be back. Never thought I’d miss the weather up here.”  


As Ahsoka glances up to the sky, she wrinkles her nose with distaste. A familiar expression. It cracks through his mind that she might never have done it again.

Again, _procedure._ Hypotheticals like that don’t help anyone but the Seppies. 

A medic’s coming to look her over, he’ll be here in a while. There’s some time till then.

“Listen,” Rex starts, sounding so out of sorts that Ahsoka visibly straightens to attention. He winces.

“What’s wrong?” 

_Osik,_ Rex could laugh. What’s wrong, like he was the one inside the factory when it exploded. What’s wrong, like he was the one trapped under rubble for hours, running out of air. What’s wrong like she hadn’t nearly suffocated to death in a war she shouldn’t be anywhere _near—_

She’s older than him, he realises. Technically, if you go by standard years. 

_In my book, experience outranks everything._

She barely comes up to his shoulder.

Ahsoka blinks, then frowns. Her brow furrows into a crinkled, concerned splotch of white. 

“Nothing,” Rex amends quickly, before realising he must sound like a fool. “It’s just—”

“Rex.” 

Ahsoka’s giving him a look. _The_ look, if he remembers Cody’s advice correctly. And now Rex is the one straightening, because even though her eyes are a little sunken and she might be swaying on her feet, that’s almost certainly one she learnt from General Kenobi.

He sighs. Then his arms drift upwards, and he swipes the helmet off. 

It takes a few blinks for his eyes to adjust. This dust really gets everywhere. 

The kid’s mouth has flattened into an awkward, patient line. But she’s not left yet.

The hand that wavers before him is awkward too. On instinct, it reaches out to hover over her head momentarily — _she doesn’t like her montrals being touched_ — before landing with a gentle thud on her shoulder. 

_Adiik_ doesn’t so much as flinch, waiting for him to continue.

“It really is good to have you back,” Rex insists. “We thought you’d—” The word remains stuck on the back of his tongue. “Well. The war wouldn’t… be the same without you.”

He makes a face. What a shitty holocard that would be.

“Thanks, Rexster.” Her eyes crinkle. “Right back at you.”

When the medic eventually comes around, Rex takes it as his cue to leave.

As always, the commander doesn’t agree.

“Stay,” she blurts, one hand darting out to grab his elbow. “Please? Anakin’s still busy with…” She waves her other hadn’t around vaguely. “Jedi Master things.”

The words are blithe. Carefully constructed to be cheerful. Her fingers tighten around his elbow, digging in like hooks. She doesn’t blink as she waits for his answer.

“Sure thing, Commander.”

So he stays. Quiet settles over; the whole battlefield seems to comply, grating machinery tracks and whistling wind muffling to a soft hum in the background. The medic works in silence, offering a sharp nod in return to Rex’s own.

Until Ahsoka speaks up. “ _The war wouldn’t be the same without you._ Some holocard that’d make, huh?”

Rex does a double take as Ahsoka grins, baring teeth. He wonders if she did that Jedi mind-reading… _thing_. Just for kicks.

Then again, probably not. She’s never needed it anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> mando'a translations:
> 
> \- _adiik_ \- 'child', generally aged 3-13.  
> \- _osik_ \- expletive, 'shit'
> 
> ———
> 
> was thinking about tagging this as character bashing but it's not really integral? i think? lmk if you think it should be on there
> 
> and listen. i adore luminara. don't come @ me w luminara h8 bc i can and will curbstomp you i love her so MUCH it's unspeakable
> 
> i just think that in this instance rex may... not. 
> 
> also:  
> \- yeh according to wookiepedia, ahsoka was born 4 years before rex  
> \- she's 14-15 in this ep. ik it's nowhere near to the most traumatising but what the fuck  
> \- again she's a CHILD hello???? would someone not be upset about this??????  
> \- p par for the course for sw yes this is old news but. i am having a conniption  
> \- get everyone in this show some fucking therapy i say this with love and concern
> 
> ———
> 
> as always, comments and kudos are appreciated!


End file.
